He arrived in my life at 13 weeks, a twitchy little guy for whom the world was an endless source of wonder. I still remember the time he trembled in fear of a discarded polka-dot cap, its spots representing something strange and unusual and potentially dangerous. I showed him the planet and he figured it out. Except for drainage grates. Those remain mysterious.

Today, I am told he is officially a senior dog. When did this happen? He just got here. We are pretty much guaranteed to see our animals arrive, and then to leave, to witness the full arc of their lives within a chapter of our own. We are the woman in the white dress and the man in the black suit. Their beginning and their end.